My hat’s off to this young builder who has such an attention to detail yet doesn't lose focus on the overall goal. Bravo! Stephen has built a stunningly beautiful 4 string single cut @ 8 lbs. He’s a member here and his builds are very visually and sonically sound, versatile and he takes no shortcuts.
I first saw this at a dealer south of Nazareth PA as I was heading to Martin to have some repair work done on one of my acoustics. The dealer pointed it out to me but I was rushed for time and went on my way. Back home I checked out what I could about the bass and the builder and knew there was something to the dealer’s enthusiasm.
This has a super light African mahogany body topped with Hawaiian Koa set into Adirondack Spruce. Three piece set neck with spacers, wood binding with a bird’s eye maple board and an aged bone nut. Wood pup and cavity covers along with hand turned knobs. Being an engineer even the cavity covers use machine screws with inserts.
Dual Coil Nordstrand DC4s in parallel with a 3 band Bartolini 18v preamp. A/P volume pull switch and a 3 position mid-frequency roll-off selector switch give this thing a very wide versatility.
Being one who supports and is intrigued by new builders all I can say is that Stephen will have a wonderful career ahead of him. He has a website showing his builds, a blog to follow and best thing is his prices aren't way up there.
Tonight we've got a small gig with regulars and I can’t wait to see what reaction it gets. Based on yesterday’s response at practice it should be very positive.
ps: His build is much better than my picture taking ability.
I first saw this at a dealer south of Nazareth PA as I was heading to Martin to have some repair work done on one of my acoustics. The dealer pointed it out to me but I was rushed for time and went on my way. Back home I checked out what I could about the bass and the builder and knew there was something to the dealer’s enthusiasm.
This has a super light African mahogany body topped with Hawaiian Koa set into Adirondack Spruce. Three piece set neck with spacers, wood binding with a bird’s eye maple board and an aged bone nut. Wood pup and cavity covers along with hand turned knobs. Being an engineer even the cavity covers use machine screws with inserts.
Dual Coil Nordstrand DC4s in parallel with a 3 band Bartolini 18v preamp. A/P volume pull switch and a 3 position mid-frequency roll-off selector switch give this thing a very wide versatility.
Being one who supports and is intrigued by new builders all I can say is that Stephen will have a wonderful career ahead of him. He has a website showing his builds, a blog to follow and best thing is his prices aren't way up there.
Tonight we've got a small gig with regulars and I can’t wait to see what reaction it gets. Based on yesterday’s response at practice it should be very positive.
ps: His build is much better than my picture taking ability.
